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Rocket Lab Photon

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Photon
Conceptual drawing of Photon-High energy version to be used in a flight to Venus
Interplanetary version of Photon in an Electron fairing
ManufacturerRocket Lab
Country of originUnited States
Specifications
Spacecraft typeSatellite bus
Launch mass50 kg (110 lb)
Payload capacity170 kg (370 lb)
EquipmentS band payloads
Production
StatusActive
Launched4
Maiden launch31 August 2020; 4 years ago (31 August 2020)
Related spacecraft
Derived fromKick Stage

Photon is a satellite bus based on Rocket Lab's Electron kick stage.[1] It moves satellites into their appropriate orbits once boosted by rockets such as Electron. It is customizable for uses including LEO payload hosting,[2] lunar flybys, and interplanetary missions.[3]

Location of Photon on the Electron rocket

Photon uses chemical propulsion for orbit adjustments. It can use a variety of engines, such as the Curie and HyperCurie engines, as well as engines from third-party sources, such as the one powering the EscaPADE mission.[4]

Photon first launched in August 2020 on Rocket Lab's I Can't Believe It's Not Optical mission, where it served as a pathfinder. It has since flown three times. It flew the CAPSTONE mission.[citation needed]

Photon communicates on the S-band.[5] Depending on the orbital inclination (37° to Sun-synchronous orbit), it is expected to have a payload capacity of 170 kg (370 lb).[6][7] The interplanetary version was to have a 40 kg (88 lb) payload capacity.[8]

HyperCurie is an evolution of the Curie engine, which comes in monopropellant and bipropellant versions, while the HyperCurie is hypergolic[9] and electrically pumped.[10]

Development

[edit]

In April 2019, Rocket Lab announced plans to create a new satellite bus, named Photon, to position small satellites into orbit. Its goal was to reduce complexity and development time, enabling technology demonstrations without developing a full spacecraft. The company aimed to broaden its portfolio and diversify its revenue streams.[11][12] The company announced it was targeting lunar orbit as part of its services, enabled by a bi-propellant propulsion system.[13][14] The development of Photon included working with potential customers, with significant interest from government agencies.[11] The first few Photon satellites would be technology demonstrators before transitioning to operational launches for customers, which started with NASA's CAPSTONE cubesat in June 2022.[11]

Rocket Lab planned to launch Photon to Venus in December 2025, delivering a laser-tunable mass spectrometer to the Venusian atmosphere.[15][16]

Design

[edit]

Photon is manufactured at Rocket Lab's factory in Huntington Beach, California. It can utilize a variety of engines, including those developed by Rocket Lab itself, such as the Curie and HyperCurie engines, as well as engines from third-party sources, such as the one powering the EscaPADE mission.[4] Photon communicates on S-band. Depending on the orbital inclination (37° to Sun-synchronous orbit), it is expected to have a maximum payload capacity of 170 kg (370 lb).[17] The low Earth orbit version of Photon can take 130 kg (290 lb) to Sun-synchronous orbit.

A modified version of Photon has bigger propellant tanks and the HyperCurie engine for interplanetary missions.[18][19] The interplanetary version has a 40 kg (88 lb) payload capacity.[19] HyperCurie is an evolution of the Curie engine, which comes in a monopropellant version and a bipropellant version, while the HyperCurie is a hypergolic version.[20] HyperCurie is electrically pumped.[21]

Initial launches

[edit]

The inaugural Photon satellite was the Photon Pathfinder/First Light satellite (COSPAR ID 2020-060A) described by Rocket Lab as its "first in-house designed and built Photon demonstration satellite". It was launched aboard Electron rocket on 31 August 2020 on the 14th Electron mission "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical". First Light had a dual role in the mission: first as the final rocket stage delivering the customer satellite (Capella 2) and then as a standalone satellite undertaking its own orbital mission. The purpose of the First Light standalone mission was to demonstrate the new (as compared to "plain" kick stage) systems for operating in orbit as a long-duration standalone satellite. To demonstrate Photon's payload hosting capabilities, First Light had a low-resolution video camera.[22]

The second formal test, Photon Pathstone, was launched on 22 March 2021 on the 19th Electron mission "They Go Up So Fast".[23] Like First Light, Pathstone first delivered customer satellites to orbit before transitioning into its own satellite operations.[16] Pathstone operations were aimed at building flight heritage and focused on testing systems in preparation for launching NASA's CAPSTONE smallsat mission in June 2022.[23][16] These tests included power and thermal management, attitude control via reaction wheels and communications systems.[16]

The first operational launch for Photon was NASA's CAPSTONE smallsat mission.[24] Qualification of the Photon kick stage for this mission was underway by December 2020.[24] Photon delivered CAPSTONE on a trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn on 6th day from liftoff after performing 6 apogee raising burns at perigee within every 24 hours from liftoff, leading to TLI and a near-rectilinear halo orbit. After this the CAPSTONE was deployed in its journey to the Moon.

After completing all the mission requirements for NASA, Rocket Lab utilised its Photon spacecraft for a low-altitude lunar flyby.[16]

Photon versions

[edit]

Due to the high amount of customization Photon can undergo, Rocket Lab decided to rebrand Photon and split it into different spacecraft: Explorer, Lightning, Pioneer, and Photon.[25]

Explorer

[edit]

Explorer is a high delta-V spacecraft designed for deep space missions. The first Explorer flew in 2022 and delivered CAPSTONE to a trajectory towards the Moon. Currently, two Explorers are being built for the EscaPADE mission. Explorer can be launched on any rocket, depending on the mission profile.

Lightning

[edit]

Lightning is designed for LEO constellations and is intended to operate for 12+ years in LEO. It boasts a 3 kW power delivery system and is suited for high-duty-cycle telecommunications and remote sensing.[25] Lightning currently has no flight heritage, with the first launch planned for 2025. Both the satellites (buses) for Globalstar and the Space Development Agency are based on the Lightning architecture.

Pioneer

[edit]

Pioneer is a highly specialized satellite bus designed to support payloads up to 120 kg for special missions, including re-entry and dynamic space operations. Pioneer first took flight in 2023, supporting a mission for Varda Space Industries where the capsule atop the bus grew crystals of the drug ritonavir. After growing the crystals and experiencing some regulatory hold-ups, the spacecraft returned to Earth and landed in Utah.

Photon

[edit]

Photon is the upgraded version of Rocket Lab's kick stage. It features power, propulsion, and communications systems for delivering payloads to LEO. The first Photon was launched in 2020, deploying a satellite for Capella Space. After deployment, the Photon spacecraft served as a pathfinder.

Operational statistics

[edit]

Mission history

[edit]
Date/time

(UTC)

Destination Photon customer Launch vehicle Photon version Photon engine Mission outcome
31 August 2020

03:05:4[26]

LEO Rocket Lab Electron[27] Photon Curie Success
Inaugural launch of the Photon satellite bus. After Photon deployed a 100 kg satellite[28] for Capella Space, Photon served as a Pathfinding mission.
22 March 2021

22:30[29]

LEO Rocket Lab Electron[29] Photon Curie[29] Success
The second launch of the Photon satellite bus. "Pathstone" served as a risk reduction demonstration for the CAPSTONE mission which would send a satellite to the moon.[29] It also deployed 7 satellites for BlackSky, Fleet Space, Myriota, Care Weather Technologies, The University of New South Wales’s Canberra Space and U.S. Army’s SMDC.
28 June 2022

09:55

TLI NASA Electron[30] Explorer HyperCurie[20] Success
Lunar Photon brought the CAPSTONE CubeSat to TLI, CAPSTONE then separated from lunar Photon to get into NRHO around the Moon. The mission served as a pathfinding mission for NASA's upcoming Gateway.[31]
12 June 2023

20:30[32]

LEO Varda Space Industries Falcon 9[33] Pioneer Curie Success
First launch of four. In orbit, the capsule will grow crystals of the drug called ritonavir.[34] After which, Photon reentered the capsule and separated from the capsule. The capsule then fell down to Earth and landed in Utah, where the drugs will be retrieved. The touchdown happen on Feb 21st, 2024.[35]

Upcoming missions

[edit]

Confirmed upcoming missions for Photon and Photon variants.

Date/ time

(UTC)

Planned destination Customer Launch vehicle Photon version Photon Engine
NET summer 2024[36] LEO Varda Space Industries Falcon 9 Pioneer Curie
Second of four[37] Photons for Varda Space Industries
NET 2024[36] LEO Varda Space Industries Falcon 9 Pioneer Curie
Third of four[37] Photons for Varda Space Industries
NET 2024[36] LEO Varda Space Industries Falcon 9 Pioneer Curie
fourth of four[37] Photons for Varda Space Industries
NET 2024[38] Mars NASA New Glenn[39] Explorer Bipropellant system from Arianespace[40]
Rocket Lab received a subcontract from the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (UCBSSL) to design two Photon spacecraft for the EscaPADE mission, set to orbit Mars and study its magnetosphere. The mission, part of NASA's SIMPLEx program, will explore Mars' unique magnetosphere and its relationship with the solar wind, shedding light on the planet's historical climate changes.[38]
NLT fall 2025 [41] LEO U.S. Space Force Electron Pioneer Curie
Mission for SSC, Rocket Lab will build and launch a satellite for TacRS (Tactically Responsive Space). Once on orbit, the spacecraft will conduct a variety of dynamic space operations to demonstrate SDA characterization capabilities with True Anomaly’s spacecraft, the Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle. [42]
NET 2025 [43] Venus Rocket Lab Electron[44] Explorer HyperCurie[45]
First privately funded mission to venus.[44] Photon will examine the Venus cloud layer in search for organic compounds.

The goal is to send a probe to around 48 km altitude where Venus' atmospheric conditions are closer to those found on Earth.[44]

NET 2025 LEO Globalstar Unknown Lightning Unknown
In February 2022, Rocket Lab was awarded a $143 million subcontract by MDA to lead the design and manufacture of 17 spacecraft buses for Globalstar’s new Low Earth Orbit satellites.[46] The launch is planned for no earlier than late 2025.
NET 2026 LEO Viasat Unknown Lightning Curie
Spacecraft bus for Viasat. The Rocket Lab spacecraft will provide the power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control for the mission demonstration. Rocket Lab will incorporate its own satellite components and sub-systems into the spacecraft including star trackers, reaction wheels, solar panels, S-band radios, flight software and ground software, and the new L-band radio in development for the future InCommand service. [47]
NET 2027 LEO SDA Unknown Lightning Unknown
Rocket Lab was selected by the SDA to design and built 18 Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta Data Transport Satellites (T2TL - Beta). The launch is planned no earlier than 2027.

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Foust, Jeff (8 April 2019). "Rocket Lab unveils Photon smallsat bus". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Varda Space Industries". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Photon". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b 73 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) (18 September 20022), ESCAPADE: A Low-Cost Formation at Mars, Retrieved 21 October 2023
  5. ^ "x.com".
  6. ^ "Photon". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Rocket Lab to deliver payloads to the Moon and beyond with Photon". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Satellite Solutions". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. ^ Etherington, Darrell (13 May 2020). "Rocket Lab tests new hyperCurie engine that will power its deep space delivery vehicle". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  10. ^ Beck, Peter. Rocket Lab SmallSat Update and Q&A. youtube.com. 38 minutes in. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Rocket Lab launches first Photon satellite". SpaceNews. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Rocket Lab unveils Photon smallsat bus". SpaceNews. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Rocket Lab to offer lunar missions, ground station services". SpaceNews. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  14. ^ Berger, Eric (21 October 2019). "Rocket Lab—yep, Rocket Lab—has a plan to deliver satellites to the Moon". Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Rocket Lab Probe". Venus Cloud Life. MIT. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e Burghardt, Thomas (22 March 2021). "Rocket Lab launches Photon pathfinder on They Go Up So Fast". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Photon". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  18. ^ Grush, Loren (17 June 2020). "How small launcher Rocket Lab plans to pull off its first mission to the Moon next year". The Verge. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Satellite Solutions". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  20. ^ a b Etherington, Darrell (13 May 2020). "Rocket Lab tests new hyperCurie engine that will power its deep space delivery vehicle". TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  21. ^ Peter, Beck. Rocket Lab SmallSat Update and Q&A. youtube.com. 38 minutes in. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  22. ^ "First Light". Gunter's Space Page.
  23. ^ a b "Rocket Lab launches smallsat rideshare mission". SpaceNews. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  24. ^ a b Corbett, Tobias; Gebhardt, Chris (15 December 2020). "The Owl's Night Begins: Japan's StriX-α satellite launches with Rocket Lab". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Spacecraft". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches Capella's first commercial radar satellite – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  27. ^ "I Can't Believe It's Not Optical". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Rocket Lab Launches First In-house Designed & Built Photon Satellite". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d "They Go Up So Fast". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  30. ^ "Completed Missions". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  31. ^ "CAPSTONE Moon Mission". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  32. ^ Cohen, Jackie Wattles, Moss (12 June 2023). "Forget space tourism. This company wants to make drug manufacturing the next big extraterrestrial business | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 8 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Foust, Jeff (11 October 2021). "Varda Space selects SpaceX for launch of first space manufacturing satellite". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  34. ^ Clark, Stephen (8 July 2023). "In-space manufacturing startup aces pharma experiment in orbit". Ars Technica. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  35. ^ "update on Varda's W-1 Mission". X.com. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  36. ^ a b c "Varda Space Industries". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  37. ^ a b c "Varda Space Industries Orders Fourth Photon Spacecraft from Rocket Lab to Enable In-Space Manufacturing". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  38. ^ a b "Misson To Mars - Escapade". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  39. ^ Foust, Jeff (13 April 2023). "ESCAPADE confident in planned 2024 New Glenn launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  40. ^ [1] 73 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) (18 September 2022), ESCAPADE: A Low-Cost Formation at Mars, Retrieved 21 October 2023
  41. ^ Clark, Stephen (12 April 2024). "The Space Force is planning what could be the first military exercise in orbit". Ars Technica. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  42. ^ "Rocket Lab Selected by Space Systems Command to Build and Launch Spacecraft for Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) Mission". www.businesswire.com. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  43. ^ Robert Lea (6 June 2023). "1st-ever private Venus mission delayed until at least 2025". Space.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  44. ^ a b c "First Private Mission to Venus". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  45. ^ https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5032&context=smallsat [bare URL]
  46. ^ "Globalstar Constellation". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  47. ^ "Viasat and Rocket Lab Partner to Showcase On-Demand, Low-Latency Data Relay Services for LEO Satellites". www.businesswire.com. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
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